


A Minor Problem

by Irving-Braxiatel (Elycia7)



Category: Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Celestial Intervention Agency - Freeform, F/M, Other, Politics, non binary character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 22:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6132886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elycia7/pseuds/Irving-Braxiatel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"'The room is bugged.' The words were scrawled on the note Narvin had slipped into Romana’s hand as they walked past one another."</p>
<p>Narvin has to deliver some bad news to President Romana which, as it turns out, isn't as easy as it sounds.</p>
<p>Set Post-Zagreus and pre-Gallifrey Series</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Minor Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Et Mindre Problem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5410742) by [Irving-Braxiatel (Elycia7)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elycia7/pseuds/Irving-Braxiatel). 



_The room is bugged_.

The words were scrawled on the note Narvin had slipped into Romana’s hand as they walked past one another.

”Coordinator,” Romana said calmly the next time she walked past him in the grand ballroom. ”Delegates,” she continued, greeting the politicians Narvin had been conversing with. ”You must excuse me. I will need to borrow Narvin. I promised him earlier this evening that he could have my first dance, and I see that musicians are just preparing to play.”

Narvin let Romana lead him away. ”Madame President. I must insist that you tell me where we are going.”

”The dance floor,” Romana explained exasperated. ”I thought as much was obvious.”

”You want us to actually dance,” Narvin said, surprised.

”Of course,” Romana replied.

”I don’t recall you actually promising me your first dance,” Narvin pointed out. ”Nor asking for it in the first place.

”You didn’t, no. It is one of your more redeemable qualities.” Romana had always dragged him all the way through the room, towards the dance floor.

Narvin stopped walking, forcing Romana to halt as well. He murmured something, which Romana could not make out over the background noise.

”I can’t hear what you are saying. You will have to repeat that,” she said.

”I can’t dance,” Narvin admitted again.

”You can’t dance?” Romana asked sceptically.

”I never had the time to learn, and I have never needed it before. I don’t exactly make a habit out of getting abducted to the dance floor. Especially not by the President of Gallifrey.” 

Romana considered it. ”That won’t be a problem,” she decided. ”I would have led regardless. Just follow as well as you can manage.”

The corner of Narvin’s mouth twitched briefly, but otherwise he showed no sign of annoyance. ”As I understand it the man usually leads,” he argued, as a last attempt to avoid the humiliation a dance would inevitably lead to.

”Yes. But even if some of our esteemed guests are not aware of it, neither of us are men,” Romana reminded him. ”Either way, I‘m sure no one will question why the President of Gallifrey is leading. And I _am_ , after all, your President, and I have decided that I will lead – and that is how it’s going to be. Come on, before anyone notices us standing here in the corner and starts wondering what we are actually doing.”

They covered the last distance to the dance floor and Romana took Narvin’s left hand and placed it close to her waist. Then she took his right hand in hers and finally put her right hand on his shoulder.

“And what-“ Narvin started, but was cut off when the music started and Romana tugged at his hand to steer him into motion.

“Try not to step on my toes every time you take a step,” Romana hissed at him.

“I would if you had given me any form of instructions before we started dancing,” Narvin whispered back, equally annoyed.

“And for goodness sake, answer me before we are led from the dance floor because you’ve managed to knock something over,” Romana continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Answer you?” he asked, finally noticing that Romana was trying to establish a telepathic link with him.

“Contact,” Romana said.

”Contact.”

The conversation that followed wasn’t actually a conversation as such. Not a conversation of words, anyway. If it had been it may have sounded like the following: 

“On what grounds do you suspect the room is bugged?” Romana asked 

“Because I have the room bugged as well,” Narvin admitted

A general feeling of anger and dissatisfaction flowed in Narvin’s direction, along with something that went along the lines of ‘Don’t think I’m going to forget this.’

“For your safety,” Narvin explained himself.  

“We don’t have time for your excuses,” from Romana to Narvin. “What does your illegal surveillance of my conference have to do with your allegations?”

“Their equipment is disturbing ours.”

“They can’t hear us?” Romana demanded, deliberately showing him her irritation that she had been forced to share a telepathic link with him needlessly.

“We don’t know if our equipment is also disturbing theirs.” 

“Do you know who it is?”

“Of course not. I was only just told myself. One of my Commanders, Torvald, has contacted me and-”

“Is it relevant?”

“You aren’t the only one who has no interest in out mental contact persisting. I wouldn’t mention it if it weren’t relevant. Torvald found one of their microphones, and is examining it at this very moment. But from what he told me, it looks remarkably like something the Monans could have made.”

“Narvin I didn’t make you the Coordinator of the CIA so that you could continue Vansell’s policies of paranoia towards the Monans. They _are_ our allies.”

“It’s a young alliance, which both parties could easily break. And this isn’t paranoia. I trust Torvald.”

“And you have purposefully neglected to mention that he recently regenerated because?”

Narvin, in his physical form, not his mental self, looked at outraged at Romana, immediately shutting down their already limited telepathic contact. “You have no right to-”

“I heard about Torvald’s regeneration elsewhere as soon as it happened. I’m just saying, he could still be unstable.” Romana whispered back. “Whatever you might think of my policies, Narvin, I am decent person. _I_ would never invade someone else’s mind to steal information.”

“And why did you hear about Torvald?” Narvin asked, re-establishing their telepathic connection.

“It isn’t relevant.”

“It might be. If you can find information about my agency, who else might be able to?”

“I am the president of Gallifrey. It is my job to know everything that happens on my planet.

“Actually, as the Coordinator of the CIA, I think you will find that is my job,” Narvin said smugly. “You are a politician. You don’t need to know anything beyond what you require to argue your viewpoints.”

That spiteful comment may have been a mistake from his side, Narvin realised, when he felt exactly how furious Romana was with him. “What I mean is-“ he started to amend.

“I know exactly what you mean,” Romana cut him off. “Your impoliteness isn’t what’s important right now. Finding out why someone is listening in on my conference is.”

“My people are already searching through our surveillance tapes. They will find out who is behind this as soon as possible.”

As Narvin was telling her this, the song came to an end and as did their dance. Apparently they had attracted quite a lot of attention from the other guests in attendance.

Romana had discreetly been guiding him through the dance telepathically while they spoke. He had been too focused on their conversation and on following her instructions, he realised. Otherwise he would never have let her place him in such a compromising position.

His hand was now on the middle of her back rather than her waist, and the Madame President was leaning back in what he recognised as a dip. He was also leaning slightly forward himself, he realised to his horror. They were inches apart.  

He met her gaze, as he exhaled. This was the first, and hopefully last, time Narvin had ever danced with someone in such a scandalous way. Especially his President! What would the other delegates think of Gallifrey when its highest-ranking officials were behaving like this in public?

“Narvin,” Romana cleared her throat. He realised that she could not get out of her current position without his help. He straightened hastily, letting go of her as soon as he was sure she would not fall.

“You could have at least tried to pick a dance that wouldn’t attract quite so much attention.” This was much worse than what he would have felt had she allowed him to fumble his way through their dance without her help. 

“On the contrary,” Romana replied. “If I had had the choice, I wouldn’t have danced with you at all. Let alone something as close as this. But while everyone was busy watching us dancing, no one realised that we were talking. We are far from the only telepaths in here. Someone could easily have realised what we were doing, had they not been too busy wondering how two Time Lords learned to dance like that.

“And where did you learn it?” Narvin asked while they hastily left the dance floor. He made sure to keep a larger distance to her than he normally would, just in case anyone was getting any wrong ideas about their relationship based on their display a few minutes prior. “Surely it isn’t Cardinal Braxiatel who-“

Romana laughed. “No, not Braxiatel. Opposite you he has makes a habit of asking me to dance at every given opportunity. I have made it a matter of principle to decline his offer every time.”

“And understandable principle.”

“I’m not so sure he agrees to that.” She sobered. “It was the Doctor who taught me, if you must know. To dance that is.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t guess. Only a renegade Time Lord would be familiar with something so obscene,” Narvin commented.

That was apparently as far as Romana was prepared to let him go on.

“I am going to leave now, Narvin. I expect that you will have solved out little problem by the time I wake up tomorrow, in a discreet manner. And don’t even think about making any decisions in my absence. I am in charge here, and you would be wise not to forget it.”

Narvin was clearly dissatisfied with the near-impossible task put before him. “Of course, Madame President. Is that everything? Or would you also have me capture every single criminal Gallifrey has a warrant out for before your breakfast? Oh, I forgot. Those are your associates.”

“And for Rassilon’s sake, learn some manners while you are at it,” Romana sneered. She turned on her heel, leaving a fuming Narvin standing in the middle of the crowded room.

While making her way back to her rooms Romana began to cool down. Narvin was intolerable. Worse yet, he was good at his job and therefore also irreplaceable. Had he been anyone else she would have had him replaced long ago.

She rounded a corner and almost walked into a woman heading in the opposite direction.

“Oh, let me through. I am-“ she hesitated. The woman who stood in front of her was familiar. “Leela, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And you are President Romana. We met when-” 

“Yes, when the Doctor was here with Charley Pollard. With Zagreus and Rassilon. I remember,” Romana said. “But why are you here. Andred couldn’t possibly-”

“Andred is missing,” Leela explained. “I am looking for him. I came here to ask his superior where he is stationed. I must go. Good evening, Romana.” Leela was gone as fast as she had appeared.

Romana stood in the corridor for a moment, making up her mind about what to do next. She had calmed down enough to realise that Narvin definitely wasn’t competent enough to handle the task she had given to him without messing it up. She would have to supervise him to ensure that Narvin would not accidentally start a diplomatic crisis in her absence.

“If you want anything done right, Romana, do it yourself,” she sighed, before turning and going back to find Narvin.


End file.
